Chapter 36 The Miami Cage

• (POV: Isabela)
• Time felt broken after Mateo left. I drew my knees to my chest on the dusty floor, but the damp chill of the safe house crept into me anyway, bone-deep and miserable. His touch, rough and unwelcome, his voice, cold and final – it all echoed in my skull, a loop I couldn't break, a nightmare I couldn't wake from. The sharp edges of the broken burner phone dug into the floorboards nearby. A faint scent of burnt paper hung in the air. Each breath felt heavy, painful. I didn’t cry anymore. The tears had dried up, leaving behind a vast, hollow emptiness. Numb. That’s what I felt. Numb and dirty and broken.
• Time blurred. I was just a curled-up ball against the rough, splintery wood of the door. Then, sounds from outside started to bleed through: a low engine hum, then soft, careful footsteps getting closer, a muffled voice giving curt commands. Not Mateo’s voice this time. Different. Professional.